


Stay Up

by reedyas



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: AFFC spoilers, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Past Abuse, Post-Quiet Isle Sandor, Suicidal Thoughts, this is a sad fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-02
Updated: 2013-10-02
Packaged: 2017-12-28 05:06:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reedyas/pseuds/reedyas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the War ends, neither of them are quite the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay Up

After the War ends, neither of them are quite the same.

Sandor finds her travelling with a pack of peasants on the edge of the Riverlands. She leaves with him, willingly.

She’s quiet. When they travel, only the sound of harsh winds through the snow sprinkled trees can be heard. Her blue eyes are often seeing something else, something in the distance or something that has already happened. She doesn’t speak.

There is a sad sort of beautiful that surrounds her. Her auburn roots are growing back, contrasting against her pale face. She never smiles. Her dresses hang limp against her slight frame. She looks as if she’s wasting away from starvation. The circles under her eyes are dark and unforgiving.

When they reach an inn, he tells the keeper that they are husband and wife. She hardly eats her soup that evening, spooning the chunks of meat and broth in circles. He offers her a piece of bread. She refuses.

That night, he sleeps on his side, facing away from her and towards the window. The storm has stopped for a bit. The moon illuminates the bright snow piled on trees and rocks. He drifts asleep.

The next time he awakens, she’s shaking next to him. He thinks she’s cold, so he throws another wool blanket on top of her. He notices the tears on her cheek, the way she’s curled in a ball, protecting herself from the world. He doesn’t know what to do, except to rub small circles on her back. She flinches.

Sansa Stark is falling apart before his eyes.

She sits up and tentatively reaches for him. Her hand finds his shoulder, her nails ghost down his arm and she links their fingers together. Leaning into his shoulder, she weeps. Sandor leans his head on top of hers, unsure what to do.

“I just want to sleep,” she heaves between sobs. “I want to see my mother and father and Robb and Bran and Rickon. I want to sleep. I can’t keep waking up knowing that I’m alone and I’ll never see them again. I don’t want to wake up.”

His heart drops. Reaching an arm behind her back, he whispers, “Can I?”

She nods. He scoops her into his arms and cradles her in his lap. She clutches at his night shirt and presses her face to his chest. He kisses the top of her forehead lightly. “I’ll stay up with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was listening to _Asleep_ by The Smiths when I wrote this.


End file.
